Sacrifice
by Kurama no Miko2003
Summary: The Dark Tournament is over, but Kurama is forever changed by a decision someone else made. Edited and reposted from the earlier version. One-shot, 2nd story of the Foxfire arc.


Disclaimer: I do not own Yuu Yuu Hakusho nor do I make any money from this piece of fan fiction.

Warnings: Angst ahead! Plus a character "death", if you will.

AN: I was recently watching the Sensui and Three Kings arcs, and the idea for this little Kurama one-shot came to mind. Kurama becomes a rather dark character in both of those arcs; first he kills Amanuma (decidedly not entirely voluntary) but then he also treats Toguro Ani to A Fate Worse Than Death (look this up on tv tropes if you're not familiar with the term). Then there was the whole bit with Yomi. So, I thought about it some, and came up with this. Also requires knowledge of what happened in the Two Shots bonus chapter from the manga. The story itself, though, will take place between the Dark Tournament and Sensui arcs.

Sacrifice

It had been a week since the finals of the Dark Tournament, and Kurama still could not believe what had happened. In a few short weeks, he had had more brushes with a one-way trip to the Reikai than he had in the past decade and a partial reclamation of the power he once wielded as Youko Kurama. Lying on his back on the bed with his arms folded behind his head, Kurama could only stare at the ceiling as he remembers just what had happened, and silently mourns. The unbearable silence in both his head and his heart would have the entirety of the Makai laughing at him. Youko Kurama, the legendary thief, silently mourning the loss of a human child, when his cutthroat ruthlessness was as infamous as his knack for stealing everything that was not nailed down.

His mind ran through his memory of that fight over and over, wondering if there was something more he could have done. Trained harder, dodged more, moved a little faster. Anything to avoid his current situation. But his fighter's instinct told him no, he was already doing the best he could. And the sacrifice that brave soul that was Minamino Shuuichi had made was something Kurama had never thought it would be capable of.

It used to be that Kurama could wrench control of that human body whenever he pleased, and before The Incident, he did. And he often used it to play cruel tricks on Shiori; snatch control, make a cruel comment, and then leave a stunned Shuuichi to deal with the consequences. But that was before The Incident. And afterwards, Kurama relented, because, by saving him from falling on the shards of the broken dishes, surely ending any plans Kurama had of returning, he now owed her a life debt. And that was something he had to repay her for.

The Forlorn Hope theft and the run-in with Urameshi Yuusuke had partially absolved him of some of the debt he owed Shiori, but it only saddled him with another, as Yuusuke's insistence that the mirror not steal all of Kurama's life. What Yuusuke had not realized was that the mirror would have ended the life of one of the souls, and Kurama was more than ready to make that sacrifice and leave Shuuichi to live out the rest of his life in peace.

But no, Yuusuke had interfered, and that left him now with two life debts. And so, he had no choice but to enter the Dark Tournament when the invitation came, especially after hearing that Yuusuke would be invited. Which led him to his current situation.

While many had simply believed that there was no human soul within the being known as Kurama, that fact was simply wrong. He was, in fact, a human body with a human soul . . . and a youko soul. Both can control the body, but he was only capable of manipulating plants while the youko soul was in control. They could fight over control of the body, at which point, the physical body remained inert while the two wrestled for control. And that had happened rather often early on, before The Incident and Kurama finally understanding what love was and why it was so important. But surprisingly, when both souls wanted the same thing and worked in perfect harmony with each other, he was unbeatable.

So when it came time to face Karasu, they both wholeheartedly agreed to try to put together a strategy, with Shuuichi observing while Kurama fought against a simulated mental copy of Karasu. But they had come up with nothing. And while Suzuka had helped with his offering of the elixir, it would prove to be not enough. And in the end, as the potion wore off, Shuuichi did something that Kurama thought that gentle human soul could never do.

He wrenched control from the kitsune spirit, knowing full well he had but a few minutes of access to the spirit's powers of plant manipulation as a side effect of drinking that potion. And then blocked him from even trying to regain control. While Shuuichi had never so much as been in control to feel the pain of any of the fights, for him to take on those final moments of the fight against Karasu, to take on that much pain all at once and still remain conscious made Kurama scream from the inside. "That's enough, let me take over!" he had screamed over and over again. The youko knew that if he had a corporeal body right then, tears would be pouring down his face.

The vampire plant scheme was sheer brilliance; Kurama had to give Shuuichi credit for that. Suicidal, but brilliant. He did not even think the boy would have wanted to even try it, for it was certain death. But Shuuichi did it anyway. As the plant erupted from their broken body, Kurama would be forever haunted by the boy's last words. "I may not have spiritual sixth sense like you do, and I may be the weaker of the two of us, but I do know that you must survive. More creatures," this word, he spat out, "like the ones we've encountered here will come for you, but they will most certainly come after mother. And if you die, who will protect her? I'm sorry for being such a nuisance before." Kurama instantly regretted those comments he had said early into their partnership, before The Incident. "I'm sorry that I can't use reiki. So let me sacrifice myself so that you may continue to keep mother safe. I don't fear death; I already know what's coming. And I can't let you die before you've atoned for everything."

But now, back in his room, Kurama could only stare at ceiling past his hand, wondering about the fate of that human soul that had kept him company for what was comparatively a second in his lifespan. And once more, he got the distinct impression that Karma and Inari were toasting to each other, as he realized he now had a third life debt to repay. And the being, err, soul, he owed this debt to was not even around to collect on it.

A small laugh escapes his lips, as it escalates into loud laughter. A nervous knock followed by, "Shuuichi? Are you alright in there?" made him realized he had disturbed Shiori.

"Nothing, mother, just read a funny passage in a homework assignment!" he calls back through the door. Sighing, he closes his eyes, hoping that this one message will reach this human soul, wherever it may be. 'Thank you for everything, Shuuichi. You were never a nuisance.'

As he falls asleep on the bed, he thought he heard a ghostly, 'You're welcome.'

~END~


End file.
